Strictly-Shell Man Converts

Whole-house contracting holds no mysteries for Richard Kornbluth, president and cofounder, with Frank LaSala, of EnTherm, Incorporated, in Syracuse, New York.The first time he got his hands on a blower door was in 1982.To say it was a life-changing event would be a slight exaggeration—a creeping conversion would be more accurate. It took almost a decade for him to fully incorporate blower door testing into his insulation and air sealing business. By 1992 the conversion was complete, and Kornbluth was training other contractors to use a blower door to document air leakage reductions. Performance testing has been a mainstay of his business ever since. So in early 2001, when the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and EPA were getting ready to roll out a program to improve the efficiency of existing housing in New York State and were looking for contracting businesses to enroll in the program,Kornbluth’s EnTherm was an obvious fit.Obvious as it was, the involvement has dramatically altered Kornbluth’s business.“Since 2001, our volume of business has grown by 50%,” says Kornbluth. Home Performance with ...